Current Affairs for 24 July 2026

The Supreme Court has asked States and Union Territories to consider raising the retirement age of judicial officers to 61 years. Learn about the objective behind this directive, its background, and its impact on the Indian judiciary.

Why in News?

The Supreme Court has directed all States and Union Territories to consider increasing the retirement age of judicial officers from 60 to 61 years as an interim measure. The Court is also examining whether the retirement age should be uniformly enhanced to 62 years across the country.

Why Is the Issue Before the Supreme Court ?

• The matter has been pending before the Supreme Court for several years and concerns the service conditions of the subordinate judiciary. 
• The petition highlights key issues such as:
  • Lack of a uniform retirement age across States.
  • Career stagnation among judicial officers.
  • Disparities in pay scales and promotional opportunities.
  • Increasing vacancies and shortage of experienced judges in district courts.
  • The need to strengthen judicial efficiency and reduce case pendency.
• The Court is examining whether a uniform retirement age can improve the functioning of the subordinate judiciary.

What Has the Supreme Court Directed?

• As an interim arrangement, the Supreme Court has directed all State Governments and Union Territories, in consultation with their respective High Courts, to decide whether the retirement age of judicial officers should be increased from 60 to 61 years.
• If both the State Government and the High Court agree, judicial officers in that State or UT will be allowed to continue in service until the age of 61 years.
• However, the Court made it clear that:
  • This is only an interim arrangement.
  • It does not determine the final legal position.
  • The Supreme Court will independently decide whether the retirement age should be uniformly increased to 62 years across the country.
• The Court has also directed all States, UTs and High Courts to submit their views within two weeks.

Why Is There No Uniformity?

• Different States and High Courts have adopted different positions.

Supporting the Proposal

• The Madhya Pradesh High Court has passed a Full Court resolution recommending an increase in the retirement age from 60 to 62 years.

Opposing the Proposal

• Some High Courts, including the Punjab and Haryana High Court, have opposed the proposal.
• They argue that the retirement age of State government employees in their respective States is 60 years or below, and judicial officers should not be treated differently.
• Because of these differing views, the Supreme Court has introduced an interim mechanism allowing retirement at 61 years wherever both the State Government and the High Court agree.

Background of the Issue

• This is not the first time the Supreme Court has considered the issue.
• Earlier, a Bench headed by former Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai permitted judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh to continue in service up to 61 years. The Bench referred to a similar decision taken in Telangana.
• The Court had also observed that judicial officers and other State government employees are paid from the same public exchequer, while many States already allow their government employees to retire at 62 years.

Historical Background

• The dispute dates back to the Supreme Court's 2002 judgment, which declined to accept the recommendations of the Justice K. Jagannatha Shetty Commission.
• The Commission had recommended:
  • Raising the retirement age of district and subordinate judicial officers from 60 years to 62 years.
  • Introducing uniform service conditions for the subordinate judiciary across India.
  • Improving judicial administration by retaining experienced judges.
• Although the recommendation was not accepted at the time, several States—including Telangana and Madhya Pradesh-have since moved towards increasing the retirement age.

Significance of the Proposal

• If implemented nationwide, increasing the retirement age could:
  • Retain experienced judicial officers for a longer period.
  • Reduce vacancies in district and subordinate courts.
  • Improve judicial continuity and institutional memory.
  • Enhance the efficiency of the justice delivery system.
  • Help address the growing backlog of pending cases.
• However, critics argue that extending the retirement age could delay promotions and reduce career advancement opportunities for younger judicial officers.

Way Forward

• The Supreme Court will examine the responses of the States, Union Territories and High Courts before delivering its final verdict on whether the retirement age of judicial officers should be uniformly enhanced to 62 years across India.
• The decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for judicial reforms, human resource management in the judiciary, and the efficiency of India's justice delivery system.

FAQs: Supreme Court on Retirement Age of Judicial Officers

QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2027

Why in News ?

The QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2027, released in July 2026, ranked Seoul as the world's best student city. Mumbai became India's highest-ranked city (91st), Delhi entered the global top 100 for the first time (99th) and was recognised as the world's most affordable student city, while Bengaluru slipped to joint 114th due to relatively higher tuition fees.

Key Highlights

What is the QS Best Student Cities Ranking ?

The QS Best Student Cities Ranking is an annual global ranking published by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluating 150 cities based on their attractiveness for domestic and international students.

Six Assessment Indicators

• University Rankings – Quality and global reputation of universities. 
• Employer Activity – Graduate employability and industry opportunities. 
• Affordability – Tuition fees and cost of living. 
• Desirability – Safety, quality of life and cultural environment. 
• Student Mix – Diversity and international student population. 
• Student View – Feedback from current and former students. 

Why is it Important?

• Reflects the global competitiveness of higher education systems. 
• Influences international student mobility and university choices. 
• Measures employability, affordability and urban livability together. 
• Supports India's ambition of becoming a global education hub under NEP 2020 and Study in India. 
• Provides policy inputs for improving higher education quality and research. 

Major Challenges

• Limited presence of Indian universities in top global rankings. 
• Low research output and international collaborations. 
• Weak international student enrolment. 
• Skill mismatch between graduates and industry. 
• Urban infrastructure and livability issues. 
• Higher tuition fees in some Indian cities like Bengaluru. 

Way Forward

• Improve research funding and global collaborations. 
• Strengthen university-industry partnerships. 
• Expand scholarships and affordable student housing. 
• Promote the Study in India initiative. 
• Improve urban infrastructure, safety and public transport. 
• Increase internationalisation through English-medium programmes and easier student visas. 

FAQs

National Broadcasting Day: History, Significance and Role

Why is it in news?

• National Broadcasting Day is observed every year on 23 July to commemorate the first radio broadcast in India, which took place on 23 July 1927 from Bombay (now Mumbai). 
• The day recognizes the transformative role of broadcasting in informing, educating, and connecting people across the country.

What is National Broadcasting Day?

• National Broadcasting Day marks the beginning of organized radio broadcasting in India. It commemorates the launch of the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC), which transmitted its first radio programme from Bombay on 23 July 1927. 
• Today, the occasion highlights the enduring contribution of radio and public broadcasting in promoting education, disaster communication, public awareness, culture, democracy, and national integration.

History of Broadcasting in India

About All India Radio (AIR) / Akashvani

• Established as All India Radio in 1936.
• Popularly known as Akashvani since 1957.
• Operates under Prasar Bharati.
• One of the largest radio broadcasting networks in the world.
• Broadcasts programmes in multiple languages and dialects, reaching urban, rural, tribal and border areas.
• Delivers news, educational content, agricultural advisories, cultural programmes and emergency information.

Radio's Role in Shaping the Nation

• During the freedom struggle, radio became a tool for spreading information and building unity at a time when print media alone could not reach India's vast and often illiterate population.
• After independence, All India Radio took on a nation-building role, carrying literacy campaigns, health awareness messages, and agricultural knowledge to remote and rural communities where no other medium could reach as effectively. 
• In the decades since, AIR has grown into one of the largest public broadcasters in the world. Today it operates several hundred stations reaching the overwhelming majority of the country's population, broadcasting news and programming in dozens of languages and well over a hundred dialects.

Why It Still Matters in the Digital Age

• It would be easy to assume that in a world of smartphones, streaming platforms, and instant social media updates, a day celebrating radio might feel outdated. In practice, the opposite is true.
• Radio remains one of the most trusted and accessible mediums during emergencies, natural disasters, and moments when digital networks fail or are unavailable, a low-cost, high-reach lifeline that other technologies have yet to fully replace in vast rural stretches of the country.
• At the same time, the broadcasting sector itself has not stood still. All India Radio has embraced FM expansion, digital transmission technology, and new platforms, including streaming apps, to stay relevant to a generation raised on smartphones. 

Significance of National Broadcasting Day

• Strengthening Democracy: Provides citizens with reliable news and government information. Encourages informed public participation.
• National Integration: Connects diverse linguistic, cultural and regional communities. Promotes unity through shared national broadcasts.
• Education and Awareness: Broadcasts educational programmes for students. Creates awareness on health, sanitation, elections and financial literacy.
• Disaster Communication: Plays a vital role during floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other emergencies. Continues functioning even in areas with limited internet connectivity.
• Rural Development: Disseminates weather forecasts, agricultural advisories and government welfare schemes to farmers.
• Cultural Preservation: Promotes Indian classical music, folk traditions, literature and regional languages.

Challenges Before Public Broadcasting

• Competition from digital and social media platforms.
• Spread of misinformation online.
• Need for technological modernization.
• Financial sustainability.
• Engaging younger audiences.
• Expanding digital broadcasting infrastructure.

Way Forward

• Accelerate digital radio broadcasting.
• Strengthen community radio networks.
• Modernize public broadcasting infrastructure.
• Improve multilingual content delivery.
• Integrate AI and digital technologies responsibly.
• Enhance fact-checking mechanisms to combat misinformation.

FAQs

'Let's Fix Our Food' Consortium: Strengthening Child Nutrition through Evidence-Based Policy Reforms

Why in News

• Recently, the ICMR-NIN-led 'Let's Fix Our Food' (LFOF) Consortium released a policy document titled 'Priority Policy Actions to Promote Healthier Diets and Food Environments for Children and Adolescents in India.' 
• The document was launched by Dr M. Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, at a workshop held at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. It was attended by Dr Bharati Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India, and senior representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI, UNICEF India, and other partner organisations.

What Is the 'Let's Fix Our Food' Consortium

• The Let's Fix Our Food Consortium is a multi-institutional national platform led by ICMR-NIN. It was set up to generate scientific evidence and push for policy action on healthier food environments in India, with special attention to children and adolescents.
• Its partners include Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) India, UNICEF India, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), the World Food Programme (WFP), Lady Irwin College, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Deakin University, and several other national and international bodies. 
• The Consortium aims to help prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases by reshaping the food environment children grow up in. The Consortium also launched a few practical tools — the LFOF website, a Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) along with its report, an e-learning module to help people understand food labels, and a set of ICMR-NIN educational resources on fats, sugars, and salt.

Why Does India's Food Environment for Children Need Fixing

• India is facing what nutrition experts call a 'double burden of malnutrition' — under nutrition and overweight/obesity existing side by side, sometimes even within the same household.
• According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), overweight among children under five rose by about 127 percent, from 1.5 per cent in NFHS-3 (2005-06) to 3.4 per cent in NFHS-5 (2019-21). Among adolescents aged 10 to 19, overweight also rose sharply, with increases of over 100 per cent for girls and nearly 300 percent for boys over the last decade. 
• The Economic Survey has noted that more than 33 million children in India were obese in 2020, and this number could rise to about 83 million by 2035 if current trends continue. UNICEF's Child Nutrition Report 2025 shows that obesity has overtaken underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among school-age children worldwide.
• A major reason behind this shift is the rapid rise of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption. As per the Economic Survey 2024-25, spending on ultra-processed foods in India jumped from about USD 900 million in 2006 to USD 37.9 billion in 2019, growing at more than 33 per cent every year.

What Are the Key Policy Priorities?

• Healthy School Food Environments: Ensuring canteens, vendors, and food sold in and around schools support healthy eating, building on FSSAI's 2020 regulations restricting HFSS foods near schools.
• Nutrition Literacy: Teaching children and adolescents to understand food labels, ingredients, and the difference between healthy and unhealthy choices from an early age.
• Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling (FOPL): Introducing clear, easy-to-understand warning-style labels on packaged food so families can quickly identify products high in fat, sugar, or salt.
• Regulation of Marketing to Children: Restricting advertisements and promotional tactics used by food companies to target children, across television, digital media, and packaging.
• Taxation of HFSS Foods: Using fiscal measures, such as higher taxes on unhealthy packaged foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, to discourage consumption — an approach already used for tobacco control.
• Healthier Dietary Fats: Encouraging a shift away from foods high in saturated and trans fats towards healthier fat sources.
• Salt Reduction: Reducing the high sodium content found in packaged and processed foods commonly consumed by children.
• Low-Sodium Salt Substitutes: Promoting accessible alternatives to regular salt that can help reduce overall sodium intake at the population level.
• Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC): Running public awareness campaigns to shift family and community food habits over time.
• Youth Engagement and Fiscal Measures: Involving young people directly in shaping food policy, alongside broader financial measures that make healthy food more affordable and accessible.

What India Already Has in Place

• FSSAI introduced regulations in 2020 restricting the sale of HFSS foods in and around school premises. The government also runs the Ayushman Bharat School Health Programme (AB-SHP) and the PM POSHAN scheme, which provides mid-day meals to strengthen child nutrition. There is also relatively higher taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages compared to many other food items. However, gaps remain. 
• India's front-of-pack labelling system, the star-based 'Indian Nutrition Rating,' has been criticised by public health experts for being too lenient — some studies suggest it gives high ratings even to fairly unhealthy products. A stricter, warning-label-based system, similar to models used in Chile and other countries, has been proposed by FSSAI but is still pending final approval, partly due to push back from the food industry.

Why Does This Matter

• It consolidates nearly three years of Indian research and evidence into one actionable roadmap, rather than leaving policymakers to rely only on global recommendations that may not fit India's context.
• It directly targets the food environment — meaning the schools, markets, advertisements, and family settings that shape what children eat — instead of only asking individual families to make better choices on their own.
• It aligns with India's larger public health goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 2.2, which calls for ending all forms of malnutrition, including childhood overweight and obesity, and with the broader national effort to reduce non-communicable.

Way Forward 

The government should strengthen regulations on HFSS foods, implement clear front-of-pack nutrition labels, improve school food policies, promote nutrition education, encourage healthier food choices through fiscal measures, and enhance collaboration among policymakers, industry, schools, parents, and healthcare professionals. Continuous monitoring and research should guide evidence-based nutrition policies.

FAQs